


Drugs Helped Me Find Love

by TobYou4ever (Ar_T)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Anal Sex, Awkward Kageyama Tobio, College, Developing Friendships, Drugs, Drunk Dialing, Drunk Sex, Drunk Texting, Drunken Confessions, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Angst, House Party, Kageyama Tobio is Bad at Feelings, Long-Distance Friendship, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Oral Sex, POV Kageyama Tobio, Volleyball, Volleyball Dorks in Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:14:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 22,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27054001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ar_T/pseuds/TobYou4ever
Summary: It took separation, a roommate, and college parties to open Kageyama Tobio’s eyes to his true feelings.
Relationships: kagehina
Kudos: 32





	1. Honestly, I didn’t know

**Author's Note:**

> Preface:
> 
> The first time I ever tried any type of drug, I didn't even know I had taken it. Of course it would have been just my luck, to take something to totally fuck me up after already having suffered through the worst day of my life.
> 
> Maybe I should back up a bit and give some context.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 7,315

**Wednesday, July 28th, 5:56 a.m.**

I had to face the extreme torture of saying goodbye to my best friend.

The only person who had ever understood me, who had met the real version of me and actually wanted to stay. Sometimes, I swear he knows me better than I know myself.

Hinata Shouyou. The literal sun of my life. He had cracked my hard shell to weasel his little light beams inside, never once considering I might be spoiled rotten already.

Hinata had shined a light into me, instead of projecting a spotlight around me like everyone else seemed to do. He radiated beams of healing and peace, charging me up with all of his overflowing energy and positivity.

Hinata would be boarding a plane in just a few minutes. He had shifted all of his plans ahead of schedule by two weeks just to leave the same day I did. He had claimed that it was only fair. Why should he have to stay in our small town full of memories, when I got to immediately have things to distract myself with once I got to school?

I had been accepted on scholarship, but only barely. With the grades I had graduated with, the Committee of Whoever, that helped athletes get into college sports, had requested I head to the campus a semester before freshman orientation, to take a preparatory schedule and maybe bulk up my grade point average before the real transcripts began tracking.

My hopeful summer of reminiscence had been cut short by over a month and a half. My time with Hinata had ended 48 days too early.

I was not ready to go about my everyday life without him, not ready in the slightest.

I know I am the absolute definition of socially inept, awkward to the max. The only reason most of the people in my life could even tolerate me was because Hinata had always been right there beside me, bringing out the best side of me. When I was left to fend for myself in social situations, I always made it weird somehow. Without Hinata to help me relax and break the immediate ice of my personality at meeting new people, how was I supposed to survive a brand new team?

If Hinata hadn't been at Karasuno, the team would have surely cut me off like my middle school nightmare. I practically owed Hinata every ounce of my personality. He had created a comfortable Tobio, one who enjoyed people far more than he had thought was possible.

I was terrified to be alone, again.

"You know, I'll just be a phone call away," Hinata nudged my shoulder, my attention lifting from my shoes to his teasing grin.

"There's a twelve hour time difference, dumbass," I reminded him.

"But at least our clocks will read the same. Just a little tidbit of a detail to keep us connected," His positivity always awed me. Leave it to Hinata to find something cheesy to say about the distance that would soon be between us, but I had to admit that his reasoning warmed my heart.

"Gate 15C boarding, Last Call, Gate 15C to Rio de Janeiro, Last Call!" The announcement was everything I had been dreading for the last eleven minutes and fifty-three seconds that Hinata and I had been ignoring his gate call.

"Alright, I've got to really go now," Hinata stood up suddenly, his eyes falling down to where his hands were fiddling with the edge of his t-shirt, a little habit he had whenever he felt nervous or upset.

"Hey, Shouyou," I called for his attention, just for a minute longer, using his first name to show the seriousness of what I was about to admit.

"Yes, Tobio?" Hinata's eyes widened as he lifted his chin to face me. The way my name rang out from him was like a secret melody only I ever got to hear. It was such a special sound, for it was filled with respect and admiration. I knew, because that's what I intended his name to mean. I rarely called it out, designating it for special moments so he could fully understand the gravity of my feelings. I'm almost positive he resigned to using my first name in the same manner, or at least I could only desperately hope that's why he barely said it and why it sounded so special coming from him.

Good, I knew he was listening intently now. I was going to open my respective window for a fraction of a second, letting him peak inside my little personality house that he had somehow managed to find over the past few years we had been together.

"I'll miss you," I blurted the words out before I could shrink back into myself and abandon my intentions.

"I'll miss you more, Kageyama!" Hinata proceeded to launch himself at me as he laughed loudly. I caught him in my arms, gripping him tightly to my chest. My face was burning so hot I was afraid it might start melting right off, but if this was the very last opportunity I had to be near him, then I wanted to hold him as close as possible until I literally was not able to do so.

Watching Hinata walk around the corner of his gate and disappear, neither of us knowing when, or if, we might meet again, was the most painful thing I have ever felt in my life. My entire body was on fire, the sudden feeling of dread that dropped in my stomach made me scan the room for the nearest trash can, on the off chance I might hurl.

I felt numb now, walking to my own gate. I stayed numb as I boarded the plane, squished into a seat for people way shorter than myself. _Hinata would fit snugly in a seat this size._ I was numb the entire plane ride, not even realizing that I had never put headphones in. The noise of the plane was merely static to my brain as I wallowed in my self-pity.

"Sir, it's time to unboard the plane,"A flight attendant waving her hand in front of my face finally registered some sort of reaction from me.

"Oh, right," Glancing around, I noticed that all the other passengers seemed to have gotten off already.

It took two hours for me to locate my two extra luggage bags that I had checked, catching a taxi from the airport to the campus dormitory gate. I was more or less a simple guy, never needed or cared for a lot of possessions, so what I had packed was all I intended on needing. The taxi driver at least helped me pull the bags from the trunk before speeding away.

There was a small intercom buzzer by a keypad on the wall of the small service station building. It was almost 9 a.m. surely someone would be around to let me in.

"Who's out there?" A harsh voice shot out of the speaker.

"Uh, I'm an early admission for the volleyball scholarship, um, Kageyama Tobio," I answered quickly. Maybe she didn't even know anything about me.

"Oh, right. The prodigy kid," Her tone sounded so disgusted that it set me on edge. Not a great first impression.

"Um, I guess?" I shrugged out of habit before I realized that no one could actually see me.

"Come in to the managers room, left through the front doors," She instructed briskly. I figured by her condescending tone that there was no need to waste time on giving a reply through the intercom.

There was a loud buzzing and then a short click before the gate began sliding to the side for me to drag my suitcases across the foyer and into the dorm building. I turned left and walked into the room with the door open. Inside I found a short, obtuse of a woman, dark brown hair that hung limply to her shoulders and small dark eyes that made her face look a little scrunched.

"Here's your room key, this also opens the grounds gate, the fitness center, and the campus gym," The woman practically threw my key card at me, I barely snatched it from the air with two fingers. "Your room is 10H, floor 9."

After being rudely shoved from the room and having the door slammed in my face, I was annoyed to the max. I hoped Hinata's welcome would be more hospitable whenever he landed.

Sighing at the thought of him being continents away, I hauled my luggage to the rickety elevatorand pressed the number 9. That lady had said my room was 10H. Wow, the universe was out to torture me slowly. A constant reminder of what I was missing, right off the bat.

It took three slides, a very deep breath, and then another slide before the door recognized my key card and unlocked. The room was a decent size, at least wide enough for a bunk bed desk to sit evenly against both of the walls. There was a small square table strategically centering the middle floor area between the bed frames. There was a wide, gray cabinet pressed against the wall to the right of the doorway I had just entered through. To the left of me was another door, closed. A large glass door directly across from me peaked out onto a small patio.

The bunk bed on the left side of the room seemed to already be occupied, a comforter tucked around the corners of the mattress and a matching pillowcase plumped on top. A couple books and a laptop with some large headphones plugged in were sitting on the desk.

A roommate. I had forgotten that freshman dorms required dual boarding. Just perfect. Some random ass dude, all up in my business all the time, intruding on my life against my will. Everything I needed to sink into a terrible mood. Hinata's presence was going to be overtaken by a nuisance.

"Oh, hey! You must be my roommate," Instead of jumping out of surprise at the sudden voice, my annoyance at the idea of a roommate shone out by a deathly glower of frustration. "I was hoping I'd at least get the room for the summer semester before being lumped up with some dude."

"I'd rather not be bothered by some stranger if roommates weren't required for freshman," I snapped back. He blinked at my response and then he chuckled. A legit, laid-back, easy chuckle, like he was unfazed by the darkness of my tone.

"What sport do you play?" The guy asked.

"What?" His sudden change of topic confused me momentarily.

"What sport do you play?" He repeated, his head twitching slightly to the left like Hinata used to do when he was curious. Great, even this weird guy was reminding me of Hinata.

Feeling this kind of ache was humiliating, I bet I was the only one of us dealing with this sense of longing. Even though his personality made him seem overly emotional and open, Hinata was actually rather guarded about his deep personal feelings. Not being able to read his true emotions at times had filled me with too much confusion to be able to try to bring up what exactly I meant to him. It had taken me almost all three years of high school before I knew he was actually admitting to people we were friends. I had always wanted to ask if he considered me to be his best friend because he was sure as hell mine, but was always too embarrassed when the opportunity came up. He was close to practically everyone he knew, people were naturally drawn to his warm personality. He probably considered everyone to be equal, maybe everyone was his best friend.

I could only hope our relationship had meant as much to him as it had to me. But how was I supposed to know now? I was doomed to continue my life with the uncertainty of my importance to Hinata. Of course, in the same respect, he would also never know how grateful I was for his friendship. I had never found the balls to say anything so, it was also partially my fault that neither of us were completely on the same page about the depth of our care.

"Are you ignoring me on purpose? Or do you maybe have a hearing problem?" I was brought back to the moment, face to face with my so-called roommate. He looked a little like a mix of Asahi and Nishinoya, it was kind of creepy once I settled on the realization. His hair was brown, short, and spiky, a small bunch of short hair strands styled across his forehead. Standing at about the level of my nose, he was average in height.

"Volleyball," I granted curtly, before moving to my side of the room.

"Volleyball?" He followed me across the room, sitting on a middle rung of the ladder up to my mattress.

"That's what I said," I busied myself with opening drawers to start organizing my clothes.

"I was expecting something like basketball, maybe soccer," The mere mention of such sports making me roll my eyes.

"Why is it always soccer? Soccer players can kiss my ass," Scoffing in annoyance, I pulled out all of the blankets and sheets I had brought to make the bed.

"You just give off that aggressive, brooding, miserable, I can do everything myself, only child type vibe that a lot of soccer players have. I was thinking basketball too, you know, cause of your height," He responded with a shrug.

"Move," I ordered, lifting the sheets up to show him I wanted to go up the ladder.

"Most of the volleyball players I know are way more energetic and expressive," I huffed out angrily as I climbed to start setting the sheets.

"Most of the volleyball players you know are probably useless too," I mumbled under my breath.

"Isn't volleyball a team sport?" His question stalled my actions momentarily.

"What about it?" I wondered, glancing at him over my shoulder.

"You don't seam like a team player," He noted dryly, his eyebrow raising in what I took as a taunt.

Memories of middle school flashed to the forefront of my mind, like they always do when someone calls me out on a trait I've been trying to manage. Hinata would have been so disappointed to see how I greeted someone I had to deal with on a regular basis. I sighed heavily before descending back to the floor to face the other guy.

"My name is Kageyama Tobio," I offered my hand out awkwardly, not really certain that I was doing the appropriate thing to greet him. Usually Hinata introduced me to new people.

"Takumi Yoshi," A smile spread across his face as he clasped his slender fingers around my gestured hand.

"What sport do you play?" I questioned, thinking it's only fair since he asked me first.

"Ah, sport. Well, some may not consider, but let me tell you it is undeniably worthy of being categorized as a sport," Takumi rolled his eyes dramatically and that action alone should have been enough of a clue, if I wasn't totally panicking inside my head and only partially giving him attention.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I shook my head in slight confusion.

"I'm a dance major," An image of him in a leotard and tutu affronted my thoughts, and all I could do was lean away from him and hope that my face had remained as neutral as possible.

"Dance majors house in the sports dorm?" I caught a slight grimace of his features at my words.

"So, you don't think dance is a sport?" He sounded disappointed mostly, but there lingered a hint of anger.

"Wait, I didn't mean...." My mouth had a tendency to run ahead of my brain, getting me in trouble. It wasn't that I had anything against the legitimacy of dance, I just had truly never thought of volleyball and dance being in the same category enough that I could even have a chance to be roomed with a dancer.

"What did you mean?" He frowned.

"Volleyball is my focus, I don't particularly care about anything else. I don't really give a shit if dance is considered a sport, if that's what you've chosen to focus on then that's all I need to know to respect your choice of major," Even though I was trying to comfort him, I cringed at how rude the words had unintentionally sounded when spoken out loud.

"My dearest Kageyama, let's go to a party," Takumi's sudden invite was the last thing I had been expecting, so I just floundered for a response for several awkward seconds.

"Party?" My voice came out so unsure, rekindling the all too familiar embers of embarrassment.

"Prescheduled Sports Freshman Welcome Party," He titled the event quickly. An organized party for a bunch of sports players that were all attending the prescheduled semester for a lot of similar reasons to why I was there. Hinata would have forced me to go with him, so maybe that was exactly why I needed to go. Maybe it wouldn't be too terrible.

"Okay," I nodded once before scrambling back up my bunk to finally finish making the bed.

Takumi wouldn't let me leave the dorm that night in the sport shorts and white t-shirt I had arrived in. He completely ransacked my clothes until he settled on an 'acceptable' outfit for the pinch situation.

I hated wearing jeans, but for the sake of good first impressions I slipped into a dark pair of pants. Throwing my white t-shirt into the corner, I decided I should buy a hamper at some point to keep the space more organized. Now I had to deal with buttons, the only 'nice' shirt I owned was apparently a collared, short sleeve. The color was deep blue, but then a darker navy shade was swirled in strange patterns across the fabric.

"Let's get going," Takumi opened the front door, motioning me to move with a jerk of his head.

I lead the way down to the front foyer before I realized I had no idea where we were supposed to be going. Once Takumi caught up, I slowed my pace to match his stride. We walked for fifteen minutes across the lawn in front of the library, Takumi pointing out all the best ways to get from place to place on campus as we traveled.

I could hear the party way before I could see any signs of it. The ground was literally rumbling, pebbles bouncing around my feet. The air suddenly began to buzz, traces of music getting louder.

First College Party was fundamentally meant to be hosted by a frat house. The building was practically a mansion, giant and fancy. There were more people lingering on the front lawn alone than lived in my whole town.

_What the fuck was I thinking?!_

If Hinata had dragged me here, at least he would be there to buffer my inability to emote like a normal human being. I always came off intimidating and unapproachable. Hinata drew people in, and then he shared with me, allowing an olive branch to grow in places I had never imagined possible. Now I was being suffocated by a mass of strangers grinding and laughing and mingling, with absolutely no confidence in myself without the calming reassurance of Hinata's assistance.

I knew I was doomed from the second I stepped foot into the kitchen. Two girl's were sitting on the counter top, giggling hysterically at the halo of smoke surrounding their heads. It was an absolute rank aroma. Three guys were lounging against the counters by the fridge, all eyes landing on me as I tripped onto the linoleum floor from being pushed through the doorway.

"Uh, hey," I cleared my throat as I stood up straight.

"Dude, how fucking tall are you?" One of the girls immediately hopped off the counter and walked towards me, the top of her head barely reaching the level of my rib cage.

_Damn, she's even tinier than Hinata. I should get a picture to prove I saw someone so small._

"Six foot two," I replied.

"Holy fuck, you could step on me and not even realized you'd squished me," She broke out into laughter at her own words, my anxiety growing at her strange thought.

"I'm used to not stepping on shrimpy people. You shouldn't have to worry," I assured her.

"Do you know how fucking cute you are?" The girl giggled again.

"Look, I just came for a glass of water," I stepped around her and proceeded to look for a clean glass.

"You sound like you could use something to relax. Had a bad day?" The second girl in the room cocked her head slightly as she spoke to me.

"It hasn't been my favorite day," I responded gruffly.

"Come on, man. Have a drink," one of the boys stepped closer, holding out a bottle to me.

"Is this beer?" I wondered, lifting the foreign container up to see what it smelled like.

"It's a college frat party, bro. What else would it be?" The guys all started to laugh as I felt my ears burn.

"R-right," I nodded once like that would convince anyone I wasn't being a complete moron. "It's just, isn't this a party full of athletes?"

"Well, that was supposed to be the point," One of the other guys noted.

"Aren't you worried about, you know....." I looked around the room, momentarily wondering if asking would make me look like the biggest fucking idiot on the planet. "You know, caught with drugs in your system? Doesn't the school have some sort of drug test you have to pass to play any sport?"

"Yeah, there's a drug test," The third boy shrugged his shoulder as he replied.

"You don't have to worry man. The parties through the prescheduled semester are specifically planned to get around the drug test," The first guy clamped a hand on my shoulder with a prideful smile spreading across his face.

"What exactly does that mean?" I narrowed my eyes, no chance I was letting someone try to peer pressure me into doing something stupid.

"Twelve days after the start of the first semester the school makes every student registered in a sport take a drug test. It's scheduled on the same day every year. The last party is two weeks before the start of semester, so that gives your body roughly three weeks to detoxify. Nothing hard is allowed at parties, but the general alcohol or weed is always abundant. Everything from planned parties is untraceable after about two and a half weeks, so none of the athletes need to worry about getting caught with something in their system," It was kind of mind-blowing that a group of athletes had wanted to let loose for awhile so badly that they had all unified on one giant schedule to allow themselves to party and still participate in their sport.

"What sport do you play?" I asked, somehow thinking that I could only trust him once I knew what he was dedicated to.

"I play basketball," He gripped the shoulders of his shirt and lifted it to draw my attention. He was wearing a jersey with a big number 6 in black.

"Hey, mystery giant!" I looked back at the tiny girl, leaning against the counter by her friend's hip.

"What?" I could only assume she meant me, by the way her eyes were boring into me.

"Do you like brownies?" She asked.

"Uh, I guess," I replied hesitantly.

"I made these myself. I think they'll do you some good," She offered me a plate, the chocolate looked extra appetizing after my depressing day.

"You count chocolate as a drug?" I teased, hoping my attempt to salvage some kind of respect for my character would save my social standing. Not that I particularly cared what anyone thought of me....

"Yeah, it's pretty magical," Her lips curled up into a mischievous smirk as she nudged the plate against my ribs.

It had been a while since I'd cheated on my sugar intake, and honestly the day had been pretty shitty, so I wanted to indulge myself a tad. Shrugging one shoulder, I picked up a square and shoved it in my mouth. The girl's eyes widened at my action, and then she was laughing again.

"You ate the whole fucking thing!" She cackled in a way that shook her body, whatever they had been smoking before I had come in was definitely affecting her balance because she was gripping her friend's thigh to keep from falling backwards onto her ass.

"Was I only allowed a bite? Sorry...." It didn't really make sense why they had been cut in specific sizes if you weren't supposed to eat the given size.

"No, no, you can definitely have the whole piece. I just didn't think you'd really take it all at once," She wiped under one of her eyes as her laughter calmed down.

"You offered it," I grumbled.

Everyone in the room started to laugh, making me feel extremely uncomfortable. They all seemed on the same page about the conversation, but I was pretty confused.

"Are you fucking with me?" I felt my nerves spike. It had suddenly registered with me that I was just chilling in some random kitchen with people I didn't even know. Maybe they were totally fucking with me and being at this party in and of itself would be enough to get my scholarship taken.

"Everyone here for prescheduled semester is on scholarship and in need of keeping their shit together," The look in the guy's eye was so sincere that I decided I could back down on the hostility.

"Then I'm chill. You know, I came in here for water. I've been standing here for fifteen minutes just waving an empty glass around while I talk. I seriously just need this water right now," I was suddenly at the sink, wondering how long I had been holding the glass under the stream of water. I don't remember walking to get here. I had blinked and then suddenly I was across the room.

The hands in the sink looked gnarly, covered with old scratches with slightly crooked fingers from jamming against volleyballs for practically their entire existence. Those hands could only belong to me, they were doing everything I wanted, but my arms were tingling to the point that I honestly couldn't even feel my body moving. I raised the glass and drank it all in two large gulps.

I don't think this feeling is normal, but I'm not exactly against the dull in the pain in my chest. It's like something has blanketed my senses, putting me in a sort of bubble of chill. Nothing seemed important, nothing seemed scary, nothing seemed awkward or embarrassing.

I felt kind of... free. Like some filter had been lifted off my soul.

"That isn't going to drink itself," Blinking back into the present moment, I realized I was staring at one of the walls. I was leaning on a counter now, one elbow supporting me while the other hand held the beer I still hadn't tasted yet.

I wasn't quite ready to ingest anything contradictive to my career just yet. I wanted to sit with the idea of my future remaining safe, if I wanted to try. This is exactly what Hinata would want, me out and socializing, broadening my social skills.

Everyone was staring at me now, I still hadn't started to drink. I wasn't even sure how long I had been standing there with a full bottle. It made me uncomfortable to think so many people were focused on such a trivial detail about my behavior. It shouldn't matter how long it takes me to sip my own drink. I could take my time. There was nothing to be nervous about.

"How are you feeling, mystery giant?" I swear that girl had been taller before.

"My best friend's nickname is 'The Little Giant'," I loved this coincidence. Now I could tell Hinata I had a new way for us to always be connected. Now we both had a nickname that included the title 'giant'.

"Oh, that's the first thing you thought of? That's cute," the girl seated on the counter smiled at me adoringly.She looked a lot like a doll.

"He left me today," I admitted. Something about the way the entire room was focused on me made me feel the compulsion to keep talking. I'm sure that's what Hinata would do in this situation, talk until it was no longer awkward.

"He left you? Like, you broke up?" The little pixie girl stepped forward with concern dripping off her face.

"Broke up? No way. He said he would call," I felt a sudden burning need to prove Hinata's pure intentions.

"Oh, honey. They always say they'll call," Pixie laid her hand on my arm and gave it a small squeeze, a sympathetic smile adorning her features.

"What are you saying?" Even though I didn't quite understand what she meant, the look on her face made my insides churn uncomfortably.

"Long distance never works. If you're separated for more than three months, it's as good as failed," She sounded so persistent, desperate for me to understand.

"Are you saying...." If she nodded, I honestly might pass out. "I've already lost him forever?"

My entire world spun as her head moved up and down, the slow-motion of her movement made the dread hit deeper. I suddenly felt like I was underwater, just floating in a paralyzed body.

"Hey, are you okay?" A worried voice called out as I gripped the edge of the counter for support, my legs beginning to shake uncontrollably.

"I really won't make it without him," It was probably impossible for hyperventilating to make your lungs explode inside your chest, but the panic coursing through me turned that ridiculous doubt into an overwhelming mountain of concern.

"He sounds really important," Pixie raised one of her perfectly painted on eyebrows at me.

"The most important," I nodded quickly, needing her to completely understand his level of importance.

"You called him your best friend, but did you maybe want him to be something else?" She was leaning into me, her eyes glowing with something antagonizing.

"Something else?" Her words were literally floating out of her mouth. Maybe my words were floating around too. "What else?"

"I don't know," Her fingers walked leisurely up my forearm as she pouted. "Something, like, a boyfriend?"

"B-boy... boyfriend?" There was not enough air in the small kitchen to oxygenate my brain enough to process the word.

"You were sounding a little 'hopeless romantic' after the long distance comments," She elaborated.

"He's just been a sort of pillar in my life for so long. I feel out of place in my own skin when I'm without him. He's just... my best friend," It suddenly didn't seem possible to put the perfect set of words together in order to describe Hinata.

"Way to go, Chou. His first trip and you totally fucked him up," one of the boys had moved to stand next to Pixie girl, his arm draping casually across her shoulders.

"Okay, Mystery Giant, we were just poking fun. Maybe your man is different. You seem real intent about him, so I'm sure he's a really good guy," I don't think I liked how many times she'd touched my arm in the last couple of minutes.

"Hinata is the best guy ever. He'll call because he said he would. I trust him more than anyone," As if to punctuate my resolve, I lifted the beer I had been holding for whoever knows how long and took a long swig.

When I had first been handed the bottle, it was freezing. Now, it was traveling down my throat at room temperature, the warmth of the liquid almost making me gag. I couldn't even gauge exactly how much time I had spent just hanging out in the kitchen with these strangers. It hadn't even felt like time was moving at all, but surely it must have been.

The mere atmosphere of the 'college party' was distorting my senses.

If I could just finish the beer in my hand, they'd definitely let me leave. It's probably like some initiation to know I'll respect their party plans. I'm no fucking snitch, just need to finish this beer so I can escape.

Choking down the last few disgusting swallows, I slid the bottle onto the countertop. It took just a second to align the logo facing outwards, a proud badge for being finished.

"My name is Kageyama Tobio. You can look for me on the volleyball court, because I'm the best setter there is. Honestly, though, I kind of hope I never see any of you ever again," With a salute of two fingers off my eyebrow, I pushed my way out of the kitchen and into the throng of pulsating people in the giant open area, a make-shift designated dance floor.

I tried rationalizing that no way could one little beer have any affect on such a healthy and smooth functioning body such as mine. All the toxicity of the alcohol probably burned out of my system just by walking across the room. Then again, the room seemed to be moving beneath my feet. Being seasick on land didn't make sense, but that's essential the feeling that stirred in my stomach.

"Hey, Kageyama! I've been looking for you forever," A hand on my shoulder made me jump.

"Oh, Ballerina," I relaxed at the only recognizable face I knew in this place.

"You fucked already, man? Wow, wouldn't have thought you were a hard hitter," I knew this guy's name, but it really didn't seem important to try to remember in the moment.

"I met some people in the kitchen," I informed him, not really sure why I had felt the need to explain my whereabouts to him.

"Dude, you should sit down," The brunette grabbed my arm and then the next thing I knew I was being shoved onto something soft.

I was sitting on a couch. A really comfy couch. I could get used to sitting on a couch like this. I want this couch.

My hands were slowly gliding along the fabric of the cushions when I felt some kind of buzz send a pulse up my arm. My leg was twitching, it felt so centered on my thigh, like a pinpoint of energy. I was curious about the strange feeling, so I moved my hand to touch my leg. There was something in my pocket, oh right. My cellphone. The sensation I had felt suddenly made sense.

The entire room seemed to be switched to mute at the site of Hinata's brilliant smile lighting up my phone screen. I knew he would call, I had been waiting all day.

"Hinata!" I pressed the phone to my ear, unable to contain my smile at the sudden thought of getting to hear his voice.

"Kageyama!" A weight seemed to be lifted from my shoulders. " I was hoping you'd still be awake. I know it's kind of late, so I was worried about maybe waking you up."

"You'd be so proud of me," I was very unconcerned about covering up the boast in my tone.

"Why would you say that?" He wondered, I could just picture him tilting his head slightly to the left alongside his question.

"I introduced myself to my roommate, and now I'm at my very first college party," I informed him smugly.

"You're.... at a party?" Something suddenly felt off, like the air being transferred between our cellphones had turned stale. "That's good. Yeah, good for you Kags."

"I'm glad you called. I told them you were different," Hinata had called just like I said he would. _I told you he would call, you damn pixie._ I had known all the way down in the deepest reaches of my soul that I could trust him.

"Who's 'them', Kageyama? You told them what?" There seemed to be a lot of rustling going on through the speaker.

"What's that noise?" I wondered.

"Oh, it's a little windy on the beach this morning," Ah, the wind. It angered me how jealous I was of his proximity to a beach.

"Hey, try not to stay up too late at your party. It's great that you are getting some social interaction, but promise me you'll be careful, Tobio," My name had never sounded so beautiful.

"Hey, Shouyou," I had never known it was possible to feel embarrassed when the other person couldn't even see your face, but simply talking to Hinata right now seemed to be enough to light my nerves.

"Yeah?" He sounded so distant, his voice echoing in a dead way. He almost sounded fake, like some sort of recording. This phone call wasn't nearly as satisfying as it should have been.

"This place sucks without you," I told him. He'd understand me.

"Tobio, are you okay?" If I wasn't mistaken, there had been a hint of worry just now.

"Am I okay? I'm talking to you. How could I not be okay?" Someone must have turned the lights off for some reason, because I was suddenly plunged into darkness. As my eyelids lifted up in their subconscious action, I realized I had only blinked. That small moment when my eyes had been shut had felt like minutes.

Today must have been far more exhausting than I had realized.Sleep sounded amazing.

"You're not sounding like yourself, Kageyama. What's happening at that party?" He sounded frantic all of a sudden.

"It's kind of boring, honestly. The brownie has been the best part so far," I admitted, hoping my details would make him feel less like he was missing out.

"The brownie? What kind of brownie?" He questioned. That boy and his sweets. Of course food had piqued his interest.

"Chocolate," My mouth was practically watering at the mere memory of the treat.

"Just chocolate?" I didn't know other flavors of brownies even existed.

"What else could there be? Aren't all brownies just chocolate?" I guess Hinata would know more about sweets than I did.

"Uh, how are you feeling right now, Kageyama?"The idea that he was worrying over me from halfway across the world made my chest swell with pride.

"Kind of sleepy," I stated, my mouth locking open for a yawn to escape against my direct wishes.

"Any chance you can get somewhere more private right now?" His question launched my legs in motion, easily guiding me into a silent bedroom where I could shut the door. The wood amazingly muffled the party noise almost completely.

"I found a room," I informed him once I had turned the lock for reassurance.

Suddenly my screen was flashing in a pattern, Hinata was switching our call to a face-time. Seeing his face pop up instantly settled my nerves. I had no need to feel uneasy in front of Hinata.

"Turn a light on," He instructed, obviously annoyed.

"Is that better?" I smirked at my phone as I flipped the overhead light on, but my tease was quickly overshadowed by a grimace of pain. The sudden brightness of the light had momentarily burned my eyes, they were watering so badly that I had to raise a hand to shield my eyes from more damage.

"Are you seriously at a real college party right now?" He was frowning at me, I hated it when he frowned at me.

"Well, yeah. Ballerina guy basically dragged me," I rolled my eyes at the mention of my roommate. He made me slightly uncomfortable, his friendly attitude was so borderline to judgy.

"Ballerina guy?" He raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth naturally quirking up slightly from the lift of his eyebrow.

"My roommate. I forgot his name," I dismissed the idea of the boy in favor of wanting to focus on Hinata.

"That's not very nice, Kageyama," Hinata rolled his eyes, but the gentle smile on his face told me he wasn't the least bit surprised at my indifference.

"He doesn't play volleyball, and he's not you. Why should I care to remember anything about someone who doesn't matter?" I shook my head to try to clear the sudden growing ringing in my ears.

"You're being so open right now, Tobio," That time my name had a sad undertone.

"I'm always open with you," I deadpanned. He was being ridiculous.

"It's barely been twelve hours and you already seem so..... settled," His eyes seemed to be searching my face. Even via video, his glowing orbs were penetrating.

"Hey, I found a new connection to you," Excitement from my earlier discovery was flooding back to the surface.

"A connection to me?" He looked so adorable, smiling like there was nothing more interesting than me in that instant.

"You're the new 'Tiny Giant' of Karasuno. I got branded a 'mystery giant' by some pixie of a girl tonight," I explained to him. He stared at me blankly for a few seconds and then he snorted out a short laugh.

"The word 'Giant' connects us now?" He asked, a smirk darkening his features.

"I'll cling to anything that can connect me to you forever," Words were coming out of me so easily right now, I could barely believe how mature I felt in my emotions.

"Hey, Kageyama, did someone give you anything that tasted funny?" He asked me.

"I told you, the only thing I've had is that brownie. I guess now that you mention it, it had a weird after taste," It was such a random fact to suddenly remember.

"You don't know anyone at that party. I don't know anyone at that party. How am I supposed to spend my day knowing there is nothing I can do to assure your safety right now?" Woah, I hadn't meant to make Hinata cry. It felt obvious that it was my fault he was crying, and yet I couldn't quite understand what I had done to upset him.

"Why are you crying, dumbass?" I found myself gripping my phone tightly with both hands from my worry.

"Hinata, are you coming?" An unrecognizable voice rang through my speakers.

"O-oh, right! I'm coming!" Hinata sniffled quickly and then swiped his hand down his face. All traces of sadness now cleared from his features.

"Hey, Hinata," I furrowed my eyebrows at his attempt to seem unruffled.

"I've got to go now, Kageyama. It's almost noon here, which means it's almost midnight for you. Go to sleep soon," He beamed at me before he was leaning forward, seconds away from ending our call.

"What's taking you so long, Chibi?" That voice was definitely one I knew. I didn't even need the glimpse of him peeking over Hinata's shoulder as Hinata disconnected the video to know who had called out.

That voice was literally echoing inside my head. I needed to lay down right this second or I was going to fall apart. My body felt unbelievably heavy, my heart pounding at a painful pace.

It never once crossed my mind that something was off about the night, but as the ceiling swirled above me and my hands and feet began to tingle again, it was almost overwhelmingly clear that somehow, at some point in time tonight, someone had managed to slip me something.

_Oh, shit. Had Hinata been able to tell I was fucked up?_


	2. A Party Afterthought

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kageyama has to deal with his own guilt and his annoying new roommate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 8,092

Waking up in an unknown bedroom, brain fully clouded and body overwhelmingly sluggish, was not exactly how I had envisioned my first morning on campus. It actually took me several minutes of backing down a borderline panic attack before I remembered I was even at my new college.

Thankfully I had moved to the dorms a few days before classes were supposed to start. I couldn't even imagine sitting through opening lectures feeling the way I did right now. The sunlight filtering through the curtains seemed almost too bright to handle, and there was some annoying ringing somewhere.

Holy shit, was my throat on fire all of a sudden. Swallowing my own saliva to try to calm the heat only seemed to make things worse.

_I need water right this fucking second._

I missed the serenity of the room I had woken up in the second I stepped out into the hallway. The path to the front room was lined with plastic cups, handfuls of crumbled chips and drink stains littered the carpet. I was just glad I wasn't one of the frat members that had to clean the house once everyone left. It was disgusting to walk through.

People were also scattered around the house, bodies draped over things and in places that were hard to imagine being comfortable. The air smelled burnt, with a lingering taste of acid.

Forget the water, it was impossible to breathe here. I needed to get out of that house immediately.

Even the front lawn was vandalized by plastic cups, vomit in several places, and even more people passed out. Good to know that there were other people who had felt as sick as I did, seeing the patches of vomit almost made me want to hurl as well.

My only option at that point was to full on ran away. Whatever I had allowed to gunk up my systems last night needed to be burned out. If that meant that I needed to run until I threw up from exhaustion instead of guilt, then so be it. A morning run would be refreshing.

How had I allowed myself to be contradicted? Just because everyone else had been doing it, didn't mean I had to participate. I had willingly compromised my body's integrity.

I had to run until every last drop of any type of drug was squeezed from my system. An image of a worried looking Hinata crossed my mind, and then the guilt crept back up my throat. He would be so disappointed with me. I had to run harder to cleanse myself quicker.

Suddenly my phone was vibrating in my pocket. I guess I had just figured it had died when it wasn't plugged in last night, so to feel it working startled me so much I nearly tripped on the flat sidewalk.

It was Hinata.

 _Fuck_.

He was sitting at a table, a spoon shoved in his mouth as he hovered over a bowl, his other hand waving to greet me.

I nodded my head as my acknowledgment of him. He pulled the spoon from between his lips with a distinct 'pop' and then he smiled.

"Good evening, or wait, I guess morning to you....." He scrunched his eyebrows for a second before shrugging. "Good morning, Kageyama!"

"Hey," I responded, a neutral scowl on my face but my head shaking from side to side with endearment at his rambling.

"How are you feeling this morning?" He pushed his bowl slightly to the side so he could lean on his elbow and get closer to the screen.

"I was just going for a morning run," I deflected, keeping my voice as even as possible.

"I asked how you are feeling, not what you are doing," He pointed a finger at me accusingly.

"Woke up pretty thirsty," That was not a lie. In fact, I was actually still really really thirsty.

"Okay, but, like, do you feel sick at all? Can you tell me what happened at your party last night?" He propped his chin into his hand and looked at me imploringly.

"Are you going to tell me about your beach adventure yesterday?" I retorted.

"You first," He jerked his chin at me as a signal to speak.

"I pretty much told you everything last night. My roommate dragged me, and it kind of sucked," I sighed. I actually did remember everything about last night, which means I also remember the things I said and how easy it had felt to say them. Now that I was coming back down to normal, the embarrassment of my loose filter was gnawing at my heart.

"You seemed in a pretty good mood when I called," He frowned slightly, his eyes dodging down to his second hand that was scratching at the table top nonchalantly. 

FaceTime was an amazing invention, because it allowed me to continue to be able to see his honest reactions. I had been dealing with his expressions subconsciously for so long that I had memorized every single one and the difference it signaled.

"Jealous I got invited to a college party?" I teased him with a smirk.

"What? No! That's not it!" His eyebrows knitted together in their angry way and it made me want to laugh. He didn't look hardly as dangerous as he hoped he did.

"You sounded a little bitter," I pointed out, trying very hard to be clear with the taunt in my tone.

"I was worried about you!" He huffed, his cheeks bulging out as he held his breath like a small child throwing a tantrum.

"Okay, calm down! Why would you be worried?" I couldn't help but roll my eyes at his childish behavior.

"You hadn't even been on campus a full 24 hours yet and you just casually went to some party where you knew absolutely no one? Something bad could have happened to you alone there, and I'm an ocean away from you! I couldn't help at all if something happened," He was pouting now, he'd milk every last possibility of guilt out of me with those puppy dog eyes.

"Look, I'm totally fine. Nothing happened. You don't have to worry about me," I tried to reassure him, wishing I could reach through the phone and ruffle his hair for encouragement.

"I don't think 'nothing' happened," He mumbled before sighing and then finally meeting my gaze with a small smile. "I'm glad you had a good time. I was hoping you wouldn't stay locked up in your room like an antisocial without me."

"Speaking of being social, how come you were at the beach yesterday? I thought your flight was so long that you'd get there in the morning? Shouldn't you have been exhausted?" I bombarded him with questions to turn the attention off of me.

"I was too excited to be tired!" He beamed, his eyes scrunching at the sides from the width of his grin.

"I heard someone call your name," The words came tumbling out before I could stop them.

"Oh, right. I got super lucky, Kags. There was an amateur sand volleyball tournament yesterday," His entire face seemed to light up.

"Amateur?" I raised an eyebrow at the implication.

"Well, I'd never played in the sand before. That technically makes me an amateur to sand volleyball," He reasoned, smiling smugly.

"And you miraculously found a team that needed an extra member?" Of fucking course he did. I would never have expected less. Hinata had been bound to connect in all the luckiest ways the moment he landed.

"Yeah! Doesn't that seem like fate?" I couldn't hold back my chuckle at his enthusiasm.

"Well, how did it go?" I urged for details.

"Playing in the sand is way different than I thought it'd be," He sighed, his mouth thinning into a 'what can you do?' kind of grimace. I full out laughed at this facial expression, his melodic laugh filling into the spaces of my own almost immediately.

When the first little cracks in my foundation had showed up back in high school, he had relentlessly antagonized me. Constantly begging me to loosen up and laugh for him, and when I would finally relax and let one out he would immediately shriek and then laugh hysterically. It had been pretty traumatizing, so I had tried to stop giving that glimpse away.

When he kept pestering me after I had decided to shut myself off again, I sort of snapped and started screaming at him. Everything I said was completely centered around me being the worthless piece of shit I am, if he couldn't even realize how embarrassed his laughter at my showing a vulnerable side had made me, then I really was hopeless at learning how to show any emotion.

And yet, after all that I said, he was the one crying. Rapidly explaining through his tears that seeing me laugh was like how waking up at 4 a.m. was totally worth the sleep deprivation to see a beautiful sunrise. I had thought he was insulting my darker personality, so I punched him heavily on the arm as retaliation.

His smile almost ripped his face in half as he continued to tell me that he had been waiting for me to relax around him, and it had been kind of difficult because I was a very closed door, but he had decided to knock anyways. He had waited patiently for me to open up, and the purest form of contentment with another human being was easy laughter. He apologized for overreacting every time I laughed, but explained it as not being able to control his own joy at being allowed to hear my easy laugh. I remember my face burning so bright that I would have been a way better version of Rudolph.

And that had been the first time that I had truly understood my content with having Hinata by my side.

He was the only one who could make me laugh so openly, without any qualms about showing that piece of my personality. Normally I had trouble showing off my emotions, but with Hinata it was like I finally had a safe place to be comfortably myself.

"Well, hey! It's getting kind of late here and I was planning on heading out first thing in the morning to hopefully find some kind of job to survive out here," Tapping the screen to check the time, I was shocked that it was already after 11 a.m., or almost midnight for Hinata.

"Oh, shit, man! I didn't even realize it was so late for you now," I offered a small frown to show sincerity.

"It's okay, Kags. I called you. And, by the way, you look like shit," He stuck his tongue out at me playfully before hanging up.

So, he was just going to ignore what I so obviously saw last night. I hadn't been too gone to remember that smug ass grin on Oikawa's stupid face, popping up behind Hinata like it was the most natural thing for them to be together.

_Why is Oikawa even in Rio?_

Hinata's sudden jab at the end of our call, plus his cover-up of Oikawa, irritated me beyond belief. There was really nothing I could do about any of it now, so I just had to sigh and let it go, but I'd definitely have more questions the next time he called.

Shoving my phone back in my pocket, I finally took a look around me. I didn't even recognize where I was, until I spotted the Library just up ahead. As I started in that direction I also remembered the hill down from the science building.

It didn't take me long from there to wind my way back to the sports dormitory. The idea of walking through the front gates and being seen staggering in looking like hell by that bitchy building manager set me on edge, but thankfully I didn't see her as I rushed into the elevator.

My roommate was snuggled perfectly comfy on his mattress when I walked in. How lucky of him. He'd convinced me to go to that party with him and then just left me there alone to be contaminated. I had apparently also been left to wake up scared out of my mind in an unfamiliar frat house, while my roommate got to be all comfy in his own fucking bed.

 _Dickbag_.

I slammed the door shut, not really caring how loud the noise echoed around the enclosed space. My roommate jolted completely upright, his hair sticking to the side of his face in a very unflattering way.

"Who's there?" He hollered, his eyes barely even open.

"Oh, please, don't worry about me," I grumbled in response.

"Kageyama! Oh, I'm so glad you found your way back. A friend of mine called a taxi back to the dorms and I looked for you everywhere, but I couldn't find you," He rubbed his fist against his eye and yawned. Obviously he remembered my name, but I was too angry to care to remember his.

"Nice try," I replied. Not a chance I would believe such an obvious attempt to simply save face. Moving to draw back the curtain blocking the patio door, I allowed the midday sun to illuminate the room.

"Oh, come on! Why must you torture me, Tobio?" My roommate flopped dramatically back onto his bed. His action reminded me a little of someone, and then I suddenly realized exactly what about him made me uneasy.

It was like I had been forced into a cage with a younger model of Oikawa. Now Hinata and I both had a version to deal with. Absolutely perfect.

_Fuck. Me._

"It's after Noon, you lazy fuck," I smirked triumphantly to myself at his loud groan.

"Are you even human? How are you not dead after your ride last night?" He sat up again with a childish pound of his fists against his sheets.

"My ride? I had one beer," Rolling my eyes, I opened my dresser cabinet and began to gather a new set of clothes to change into.

"Kageyama, you were so fucking high when I found you in the front room," He laughed almost maniacally at my head hitting the lip of the dresser from jumping in surprise.

"I literally drank one beer in the kitchen and that's it," I shook my head rapidly in protest to his accusation.

"Oh, come on! That beer was the only thing you took from another person at that party last night?" His head whipped around so he could stare at me accusatorially.

"Some girl gave me a brownie," I offered, annoyed with his persistence.

"It was most certainly a pot brownie then," I practically choked on my own tongue at his statement.

"A what?!" I caught sight of my water bottle, tucked into the mesh side pocket of my backpack that I had hung on the corner of my bed frame, and my thirst reappeared ten times worse than this morning. I snatched it up quickly and took a soothing swig.

"Yeah, undoubtedly a pot brownie. It makes perfect sense the way you were acting," He laughed lightly as he flipped his covers off of his legs and climbed down his ladder.

"How was I acting?" I hoped my worry of embarrassment made my voice come out threatening.

"You were being really talkative, going on and on about some dude. And your face was so.... I don't know how to explain it.... neutral? Like, you just didn't look all dangerous and scary like your first impression in the dorm. You were open, and friendly, and kind of cute, like a giant, broody teddy bear," His fluffy words made me want to punch him.

"Shut up," I demanded, lacing my tone with as much ice as I could muster.

"Party Tobio is way more fun," He pouted, dropping down into his desk chair.

"Don't say my name like that," I growled, pushing passed him to head for the bathroom.

"Alright, fine," He mumbled, spinning his chair so his back was now facing me as he picked up his phone that had been charging on the desk.

I chugged all the water that had been left in my bottle before stepping into the shower. Even water that had sat in a metal container for over 24 hours felt like relief to the burn in my throat.

The cascade of warm water down my body felt like the biggest breath of relief. I was itching to lather my body in soap and scratch away the filthy air that was clogging all of my pores. I felt like that party atmosphere had made me dingy in some way, my only hope now to try and wash the night before off my skin.

At least I could be grateful that the dorms had great water pressure. Never underestimate the power of a nice, long, hot shower. Most of my major decisions and issues were contemplated in the shower.

The rhythmic sound of the water stream was almost hypnotic, especially when the temperature was set to hot. The warm water was like a mini massage, it always helped calm my muscles and soothe my soul. Showers were like a little relaxation therapy bubble you could give to yourself after long, hard, or frustrating days.

And, fuck, if I didn't need some relaxation and time to think...

I had been on campus for one single day and already been poisoned at a party. Maybe 'poisoned' isn't the exact right term, but I was definitely contaminated without my consent.

Pot brownie? I had been given a POT BROWNIE! How stupid must I be to just accept anything handed out by strangers? At a college party, none-the-less. I had come here on scholarship. I couldn't get distracted or risk anything to mess up my future in volleyball.

I couldn't even be certain that those people at that party really meant what they had said. Parties being scheduled for one group of people for an entire semester, just so they had a chance at a 'normal college experience', it all just seemed too far-fetched.

Although, I can't deny that I was slightly intrigued by the idea of it all. Most of my life had been laid out, health plans and work out routines, but there had definitely been times where the overwork on a strict regime became stressful. There had been moments of weakness where I wished for a break, some time to do what normal people did when they weren't painstakingly obeying rules and keeping to a steady routine.

Don't get me wrong, I love volleyball more than anything. All the sweat, tears, pain, and even the occasional bloodshed was well worth the reward of being the last player on the court, to be the best. That didn't mean it wasn't tiring having to work so hard all the time.

The idea of parties prepared for and planned by a bunch of people who must have felt like I did at some point in their athletic careers, it was actually enticing. Maybe there wouldn't be any harm in taking advantage of this very rare opportunity, especially once I considered the fact that risk might potentially be lower than I realized with all the athletes being in on it. The school couldn't take away every scholarship from every athlete, surely.

The worst part of it all: Some small, dark part of me had actually liked the feeling of last night. Whatever had apparently been in those brownies had felt so relaxing, like my body had literally become weightless. The tingly sensations of my limbs had been exciting, the freedom of having no filter over showing my emotions or thoughts had been mind-blowing. It had felt like something had finally clicked into place for me, and I could be honest with myself and others. I had been so close to blurting out my true feelings.

_I kind of want to try it again..._

I thought so hard and so long, my fingers began to prune. My hand was clasped around the spigot handle ready to shut the water off, when Hinata's worried expression popped into my head again, freezing me in my place.

_What would Hinata think about this situation?_

He'd probably be super disappointed that I was trying to convince myself it was okay to contaminate my healthy body. He'd say that volleyball was too important to be distracted with parties. He'd tell me that being a volleyball player made me different than normal people, that I didn't have the luxury of doing what normal people got to do because I was special. Volleyball was just too important to risk!

Hinata always seemed to be my voice of reason, even in my own head. My conscience had tricked me into paying attention by resembling Hinata. The little voice in the back of my mind that scolded me and corrected my behavior sounded exactly like him.

Even being certain of what was right, I had used my shower time to try to talk myself out of the guilt I had woken up with. I desperately wanted to talk to Hinata, but I knew that I had no real way of describing my internal conflict to him. I could barely sort it out in my own head, no way in hell I could explain any of my thoughts or feelings to him in any way that made sense.

A deep grumble from my stomach was the instigator that forced me fully out of the shower.

End of July weather was hot, so I decided on letting the wet mop on my head air dry. My change of clothes smelled fresh and clean, covering my body with feathery softness. Opening the bathroom door, I stepped out into the room and took a deep breath of clean air.

After the last 24 hours that I've had to deal with, I finally felt partially relaxed and comfy. Although, I was definitely starving.

"Man, Kageyama! You take longer than my sister!" My roommate shoved passed me and slammed the door to the bathroom behind him.

It was amusing to inadvertently annoy him, especially after he ditched me and tried to lie about it.

Then I remembered it was Saturday. There was a routine to Saturday. I was several hours behind schedule, so I decided it would be best to just highlight the most specific and important actions. It was going to be really weird doing the pattern alone, today was probably going to suck.

"Now that I am awake and relieved," My roommate came flying out of the bathroom, his arms stretching out to the sides as he took a deep breath. "I am fucking starving!"

At the idea of food, my stomach growled to agree with his outburst. He looked over at me with a wide smile before moving to lean against the center table to watch me tie my shoelaces.

"So, where are we going?" He pestered.

"We?" The evident disgust in my tone was hopefully enough to deter him.

"You don't want to grab lunch?" He pouted.

"Not with you," I deadpanned, already annoyed at looking at his over dramatic face.

"Oh, come on! We're both new here. We should go explore the campus and get to know each other," He tried to reason.

"I'm already being forced to spend too much time with you," I growled, fully standing back up.

"Are you always this dark tempered?" He followed me to the front door, slipping on a pair of Nike open-toe slide sandals.

Hinata had given me a similar pair as a parting gift. He spent a half hour explaining to me that they were for after practices or games, meant to be a quick and easy change so I could remove my court shoes and keep them in the best condition. I had tucked the shoes safely into my gym bag, containing my excitement in front of him.

"If you don't like it, feel free to not interact with me," Honestly, That was what I was hoping he would do. Slinging my gym bag onto my shoulder, I left the dorm room.

"I just wanna get to know my roommate!" It was impossible not to roll my eyes as he stepped into the elevator beside me.

"We're stuck in a very small room together for the next year," I figured we'd know more than enough about each other just by simply existing in the same space.

"Exactly! If we get the formality, basic, get to know you questions out of the way then it will feel way more relaxed to have to share our room with someone we are familiar with," This was all I needed, another annoying person following me around and being overly optimistic. Although, the first time it ended up working out pretty great, so maybe it was just me trying to shut myself off again now that Hinata wasn't around.

"What exactly do you want to know to be familiar with me?" I almost regretted giving him permission to ask me questions, but there was also some nagging voice in the back of my head telling me to try to keep it cool and get to know my roommate at least a little bit.

"Where did you grow up?" He asked immediately, as if he knew I was going to give in.

"Tohoku Region," I replied evenly.

"Really? Which Prefecture?" He wondered.

"Miyagi," We made it to the main level, trading our places in the elevator with three boys.

"Are you serious? What high school did you go to?" He was seemingly bouncing with intrigue now, staring at me instead of watching where he was walking.

"Karasuno High," I raised an eyebrow at his behavior.

"Holy fuck....." He stopped walking suddenly, his eyes widening as his jaw hung open slightly.

"What's your problem?" I sighed as I stopped to face him.

"I knew you looked familiar!" His face stretched into an excited grin.

"I look familiar?" Maybe we'd met before and I just didn't remember.

"My parents forced me to take my sister and her friends to some National volleyball tournament. You were part of that Crow team!" He snapped his fingers, with a triumphant smile.

"Does she play?" I wondered.

"My sister? She's a setter," He told me. A wave of fondness hit me at the mention of my beloved position.

"So am I," I informed him, turning away and continuing to walk.

"Well, yeah. I knew that! You played with that little orange haired kid, the one that could jump really fucking high," His slide-ons made a loud clacking noise against the pavement as he ran to catch up.

"Hinata," I stated, clearing a small lump of emotion in my throat from the mention of him with a cough.

"Yeah, yeah! I totally remember now! He was tiny as shit but damn could he fly....." Out of the corner of my eye I noticed him shake his head. "He was also super fast!"

"Hinata's insane reflexes and fucking endless amount of energy kind of help make-up for his height," I found myself nodding in understanding of his awe. Hinata was definitely a sight to behold on the court, from either side of the net as well as in the stands.

"He doesn't deserve all the highlight! There were moments that the ball was set so fast that you couldn't even track it until it was hitting the ground from that kid's spike," He nudged my arm suddenly, pointing to a small building just up ahead of us. It was a small campus convenience store

"Hinata is the only person who can hit those reckless tosses," I admitted, unsure if it came out sounding like a brag or a complaint.

"It was definitely cool to watch you in action though," He patted me on the shoulder, giving a thumbs up with his other hand. "What a small world that I was there and now we're both here."

Our conversation paused as we both started looking for what we wanted to snag for a make-shift lunch. I decided on a turkey sandwich with mayo, mustard, lettuce, tomato, and Swiss cheese. A fruit bowl sounded like a refreshing side dish, and I also grabbed a cylinder of Honey Mustard Pringle's as a snack for later. After grabbing a Strawberry Milk, I made my way to the front of the store.

Once I was all checked out, I stepped outside and leaned my back against the brick to wait for the other guy. That at least seemed like the right thing to do. It had angered me when he had ditched me at that party, so I guess I shouldn't do the same shitty thing right back.

"You did wait!" My roommate came out of the front doors, checking both left and right frantically before his gaze settled on me.

"Hm," I grunted in reply, pushing off the wall.

"So, that orange haired kid," He immediately started back up our conversation as we walked.

"What about him?" I asked, leading the way to a small patch of shade beneath a tree.

"Do you still keep in touch with him?" We both dropped down to sit in the grass, it was a nice day outside and I wanted the fresh air with my lunch.

"Yeah, of course," I scoffed at his ridiculous question. "Hinata is my best friend.”

"Wait, is he the guy you kept bringing up last night? The one you said would never forget to call you or something like that?" He popped off the container lid to reveal his salad, using his teeth to rip open the dressing bag.

"Shut up!" I snarled, anger sparking at the reminder of my embarrassing night.

"Do you keep in touch with your entire team then?" He seemed completely unfazed by my dark outburst.

"Uh...." His question hit hard, sprouting a seed of guilt in my chest. "Not really."

"I haven't talked to any of my former dance group since graduation. It was kind of sad at first, but I guess without being forced to see each other every single day it gets easier to forget a little and move on," He shrugged a shoulder before attacking his salad.

I tapped my milk straw against my leg to free it of the outer plastic cover, and then jabbed it into the carton. Placing the straw between my lips, I took a short sip and let his words sink in.

_Forget and move on?_

"I don't think I want to forget," I admitted, lifting a grape to pop into my mouth

"I didn't mean it in a bad way!" He lifted one hand to shake it rapidly in protest. "I just meant... When you don't get to be with your friends all the time like you're used to it can really hurt, but given some time the ache lessens and then it's easier to stop yourself from missing them so it can stop hurting."

"Where did you go to school?" I asked, wanting to steer the conversation away from getting emotional.

"Ubugawa High," The name vaguely sounded familiar.

"And you dance?" I tried not to let my voice waver with any type of emotion, so he couldn't mistake it for an insult again.

"Do you have a problem with that?" He turned a dark glare on me.

"Not really," I shrugged one shoulder as I peeled back the wrap from the second half of my sandwich. "I don't know enough about it to have an opinion."

"What do you mean by you 'don't know enough'?" His eyebrows scrunched together as he put his hand on the ground so he could lean closer.

"Well, I mean, I guess I know essentially what it is. I just never thought of the appeal. I've always been into volleyball, so there really hasn't been too many reasons for me to need to think about it at all," Hinata used to tell me that I was terrible at explaining things, but that my intent had always been apparent. I wondered if this guy could tell what I was trying to say like Hinata would, because my words hadn't come out in too much sense.

"I've never heard someone sound so indifferent," He huffed, shoving several forkfuls of lettuce into his mouth with a frown.

"Would you prefer disgust? Or superiority?" I suggested.

"No, I'll stick to indifferent! At least that way I'll feel like you're judging me less," He sighed as he shook his head.

"Suit yourself," I replied. "But I'm not judging you."

"Do you have any siblings?" He was talking before I even finished my sentence, like he was trying to change the subject as quickly as possible.

"An older sister," I answered, putting all of my empty containers back in the plastic bag.

"Older? By how much?" He wondered.

"8 years," I placed the unopened Pringle's into my gym bag.

"So, you weren't that close?" He interrogated. I was really regretting letting him ask questions now.

"She was out of the house by the time I was ten," I replied shortly.

"You basically went your teenage years living like an only child. No wonder you prefer to be alone," The way he laughed made it seem like a joke, but the words still annoyed me.

"I don't prefer to be alone," I snapped back, standing to take my garbage to a trash bin.

"Hey, I didn't mean to make you upset!" My roommate hollered after me.

"Whatever," I huffed, no longer caring if it was nice to wait for him and heading off to the next thing I had planned.

"Kageyama! Hey, wait!" It wasn't long before he was walking next to me again, a little out of breath from running to catch up.

"Are you gonna follow me all day?" I wondered, my anger slowly building at the idea of having to deal with him through the rest of my plans.

"Depends on where you're going? Didn't you just say you didn't like being alone?" He nudged my arm with his elbow playfully, but I expertly shut him up with a dark glare.

"I said I prefer not to be alone. I didn't say I wanted to be around you," I took a small step sideways, putting more distance between us as we walked.

"Why does it seem like you hate me, when you don't even know me?" He questioned, a pout adorning his face.

"I hate everyone," I deadpanned.

"Even your so called 'best friend'?" The taunt was very clear in his tone.

"Especially Hinata," I turned to look at him directly, hoping my angry eyes were enough to back him down.

"Shit, okay!" His hands flew into a pose of surrender. "But, if you hate him especially, how is he your best friend?"

"Hinata is probably the most annoying person I've ever met, but I really had no choice in tolerating him," Nothing about talking about feelings was enjoyable.

"No choice?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Like I said, Hinata is the most annoying fucking person, we fight all the time, but in order for us to stay on the team our first year the captain had a rule. We had to find a way to cooperate on the same side of the net or we couldn't play," I was already passed my tolerance level of talking to this guy.

"How can you call him your best friend when you talk like that about him?" My roommate scoffed, showing his disbelief with a dramatic eye roll.

"Hinata understands me," There were no better words to explain.

"How long have you know him?" He pestered.

"We met in middle school," At that time, I had hoped that I would never see the little dumbass again. In this moment, I wanted nothing more than to have Hinata with me. A very strange turn of events when I actually thought about it.

"I need to meet this kid. Ask him how he's dealt with you for so long," My immediate reaction, almost reflexively, was to punch him in the arm. Not very hard, but enough that he used his other hand to rub the spot for a few seconds.

"I'm going to the fitness center. Get lost," I ordered, glaring down at him with as much ferocity as I could muster.

"Y-yeah. I don't go to the gym much. I'll just...." His hands motioned like he was leaving, his eyes wide as saucers.

My tone and fierce stare had obviously rattled him.

_Sorry, Hinata. I tried to play nice, but I've seriously had enough of this guy and his questions for today._

It was way easier to handle situations when you could bank that the other people were a little scared of you. That was my secret weapon, except with Hinata of course. He had always seen right through my tactics.

Workout routine was on a rotational basis. Every day was supposed to be focused on a different area of the body, spread out the work and reduce soreness. It was Saturday: Leg Day.

Once we had graduated and no longer had specified volleyball practices and training, Hinata and I had built a work out schedule for the summer. The gym we chose was halfway between both of our houses, only fair. Once we were finished with our workout, we'd head to a nearby park and practice volleyball for hours.

It sucked that Hinata would no longer be able to accompany me, but I knew he'd also be keeping up with everything out where he was. One more detail that kept us connected.

Even after a morning run and fresh shower, I still felt pretty sluggish. My body felt off, thanks to that party. It took me an hour and a half to finish my sets, when it normally took about 40 minutes for Hinata and I to do the same workout.

The atmosphere in the fitness center was annoying, loud machines and constant talking. Most of the guys in there were just standing around equipment in groups, laughing and talking about who the fuck knows what. I was used to tuning obnoxious people out, but everything was so loud and irritating that I just couldn't seem to fully filter the sounds. Having headphones to put in would definitely drown out the noise, but I had regretfully left my phone in the dorm to charge. Finishing my workout was extremely difficult.

After the fitness center, I wandered around campus a little bit. I was hoping to find the courts, so I could practice serving over a net. Maybe I'd even run into some of the other players. No way I was the only one who had to come early for prescheduled semester.

It took a good hour to find my way to the gymnasium, which turned out to be a giant building right behind the campus fitness center. I felt kind of stupid for overlooking it when I had been there earlier, but thankfully no one was around to know of my blunder.

As I was approaching the gym doors, I faintly heard what sounded like my name. Looking around at the strange feeling, I shrugged when no one was in sight.

"Kageyama!" I was literally opening the door to the gym when I heard my name more clearly. Glancing over my shoulder, I couldn't repress the sigh of annoyance that came out.

"I thought I told you to get lost?" I crossed my arms over my chest as I spun to face my roommate.

"You've been gone for almost three hours!" He accused, a frown spreading across his face.

"So what?" I raised an eyebrow at the desperation in his voice.

"You left your phone in the dorm," He held it out to me, a look of concern flashing in his eyes.

"It was charging," I explained.

"Shouyou called," He told me quickly, thrusting my phone into my chest harshly.

"What?" It was three in the morning in Brazil right now, he should be sleeping. "And don't fucking say his name."

"Sorry, that's the name that flashed on the screen. I didn't recognize it, but I recognized the kid in the profile picture that popped up," Hearing Hinata's name come so casually from my roommate had made my blood boil, I almost wanted to punch him in the mouth as a punishment.

Of course Hinata was saved under his first name in my phone, he was my best friend, but I suddenly felt embarrassed by that detail under the strong gaze of my roommate.

"Was that everything?" I asked, trying very hard not to scream in his face.

"You should call him back, quickly!" He urged me on with a little wave of his hand.

"I'll call him when I'm done with practice," Stuffing my phone in my pocket, I went to open the gym door again.

"No!" My roommate jumped forward and slammed his hand against the door, keeping me from going inside.

"No?" I narrowed my eyes down at him, anger rising in my chest.

"I-I'm sorry," He sighed heavily, his arms falling limply to his sides as he bowed his head. "When I saw his picture and realized it was the guy we had been talking about, I couldn't resist."

"Couldn't resist what?" Taking a menacing step forward, I let out a small growl. He backed up immediately, bumping into the door. His eyes were wide, pleading, now that he had nowhere to run.

"I answered for you," He told me, his voice so quiet I almost couldn't hear him.

"You answered?!" Unbelievable rage rattled through my body. I absolutely hated the idea of this guy talking to Hinata, especially without my knowledge or permission.

"Kageyama, wait!" He put his hands up defensively. "You can get mad later, but you should really call him back. Like, right now!"

"What happened?" The worried look on his face made me backtrack slightly.

"When I answered the video call, he was crying. I told him you were at the fitness center and he said he'd just call back later. You had already been gone for 45 minutes when he called, so I thought I could just tell you as soon as you got back. I didn't realize you'd be gone so long!" His words rushed out, but I had practically stopped listening after the first sentence.

My phone was calling before he even finished his explanation.

It rang eight times before clicking off, a little notification popping up to tell me that Hinata was unavailable to talk. A strange knot tightened in my chest. I called again, hoping he had just been too far away from his phone, or busy, the first time. He still didn't answer.

"What did he say to you?" Lifting my eyes from my phone to my roommate, I reached out and grabbed the collar of his shirt.

"Hey!" He yelped in surprise as I tugged him closer.

"Tell me what he said," I ordered darkly.

"N-nothing, really!" He was trembling in my grasp, his head pulling back to create some distance between us. "I answered the phone and he was already crying. I couldn't really understand him, he was talking so fast. The only thing I could catch out of most of it was your name. He seemed desperate."

"Fuck!" I shoved him away in anger, his back slamming against the gym door. I didn't even feel bad about his short cry of pain, I was too concerned about what had happened to Hinata.

"I'm sorry, Kageyama. I would have brought you the phone immediately if I knew you'd be this angry," My roommate's face scrunched into a look of pity, making me even more upset.

"Just shut up!" I barked, turning my back on him and thrusting my hand through my hair in frustration. I clicked on Hinata's contact one more time.

"Is he not answering?" My roommate was suddenly beside me, peeking over my arm at my phone.

"Shouyou, what the fuck?" I sighed, letting my arm fall to my side as my head tilted back so I could look at the sky. I needed to calm down.

_Why the FUCK are we so far apart?!_

"It's a nice contact picture you have of him," My roommate nudged my arm, a playful tone to his voice. I was so not in the mood.

"Yeah, whatever," I replied, sighing for a second time before putting my phone in my pocket.

All I could do was wait and hope Hinata called back again soon. The idea of him crying always upset me. He was an ugly crier. What was worse, was knowing that he had obviously been crying so hard that my roommate had been worried enough to run around campus looking for me.

I was halfway around the world, even if he answered my calls or called back soon, there still wasn't much I could do. It was a horrible fact to handle, that I was of zero help to him.

_Is this how Hinata felt when I told him I was at that party? Fuck, this sucks._

"Not gonna lie, he's way more attractive up close," It took me several seconds to fully process my roommates comment.

"You think he's attractive?" I turned a confused stare at the guy next to me.

"Did I not tell you I was gay? Whoops...." His cheeks tinted pink as he chuckled and looked away from me.

It wasn't the idea of him being gay that was strange, it was mostly the fact that he had blurted it out so easily. It didn't necessarily bother me. In high school I could have sworn most of the boys on the team had a little gay crush on someone else on the team. It just seemed like something naturally bound to happen when a group of boys were stuck together for so long. In fact, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi had started dating our senior year. I suddenly wondered if they were still together....

"Okay," I responded after a second.

"Okay?" He questioned, one of his eyebrows raising.

"Good for you, I guess," I shrugged one shoulder.

"Well, what about you?" He wondered, a small smirk forming on his face.

"What about me?" I scoffed in disgust at the look on his face.

"Do you think Hinata is attractive?" His question startled me so much that I literally had to take a step back to balance myself.

"Why would I think that?" There was a small strain to my voice that I tried to cover up with a small cough.

"How could you not, when a contact photo like his pops up all the time?" He sighed heavily, the sound making my face heat up.

"I never paid attention to things like that," I explained warily.

"Never paid attention? You've never looked at someone and just wanted to jump their bones?" This guy was insane.

"Jump their....? No!" I shook my head quickly. "Volleyball is the only thing I focus on."

"Are you serious?! You've never had a crush on someone? You've never thought about what it would be like to hold someone's hand or cuddle? Never imagined kissing someone?" I seriously didn't have time to think about what he was saying, worry over Hinata was still clouding my thoughts.

"Volleyball is all I've ever needed to be happy. I don't care about all that other useless stuff," That was the best explanation I could give, but when I actually thought about it, that wasn't quite true.

Yes, volleyball was life. But, everything I loved about volleyball had been tainted by Hinata's presence. I could barely remember what it was like to play without him. The thought of not having him on the court with me actually hurt, but I wasn't about to divulge that information.

"Girl's never wrote you love letters?" My roommate interrupted my thoughts.

"Why are you interrogating my love life out here in the open? Seriously, dude, just leave me alone," It was exhausting talking to this guy.

"Fine, go back to your practice. Sorry for trying to be a good friend," He frowned, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

Instead of replying, I simply turned on my heel and fled into the gym. If there was anything that could help calm me down right now, it was playing volleyball.


	3. Heart to Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Party Tobio is way more honest about his feelings than Sober Tobio would probably ever like to admit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 7,497

Volleyball has always been my comfort zone. When I stepped on that court, everything about the rest of the world faded away. All my worries, all my pain, all my thoughts, were completely abandoned in my focus.

Except today, twinges of worry were distracting me every few minutes. I'd spike a round of about 5 serves and then check on my phone, not wanting to miss another call from Hinata. I'd never felt more uneasy in my life, even volleyball couldn't blanket the feeling.

The longer Hinata didn't call, the more I worried. The more I worried, the more I checked my phone. The more I checked my phone, the more I looked at Hinata's contact picture. The more I looked at Hinata's contact picture, the more my roommate's words kept resurfacing in my mind.

_'He's way more attractive up close....'_

_'What about you?'_

_'Do you think Hinata is attractive?'_

After about an hour of my restless pattern, I found myself sitting against the wall flipping through a few photos I had saved of us, specifically focusing on his features in detail. Hinata's hair was definitely my favorite color, I'd never found any shade of something else that quite matched it's vibrancy. His eyes were wide and a smooth shade of brown, like melted milk chocolate. He had a fairly small nose and angular chin. His features were sharp, but almost elegant. Even through a phone screen he radiated a sense of warmth and acceptance.

_Fuck, he's totally attractive...._

Back in high school, Hinata had been extremely popular, girls and guys alike were constantly trying to get his attention. I had always figured it was simply due to his warm and friendly personality, but now I wondered if any of it had been due to his appearance. I would never have considered Hinata an "unattractive" person, but I'd never had a reason to directly analyze his looks on my own, so I'd never contemplated his actual level of physical attractiveness. Now that someone had pointed it out though, I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed it before.

When I really thought about it, there had been several times when Hinata had been mesmerizing. Usually, it was while he was doing something: sticking his tongue out of the side of his mouth slightly while he figures out a Maths problem, standing up straight on his bike pedals as he coasts into a bike rack stall, sitting cross-legged at lunch while carving some dumb picture into the side of a tree, running his fingers through his hair to hold the fringe away from his eyes as he drank from the outdoor spigot meant to refill water bottles, jumping up and down endlessly while begging for another toss.

My favorite thing to watch him do though, was obviously spike a volleyball. For just a few seconds, he sprouted wings and would float in the perfect place. If you needed to label things, then I guess maybe you could say that I had always felt a little bit of 'attraction' in that brief moment. It was like watching an angel hover. How could you not love a sight so beautiful? Then, he'd slam the ball over the net and land back on his feet ever so gracefully. The most shit-eating-grin would stretch across his face as he admired the bright redness of his palm.

At one point he had confessed that he loved that tingling in his hand more than any other feeling in the world. Even if it was painful from hitting the ball so hard, he never once complained. He just stared at his hand for a few seconds, smiled even wider, and then begged me for another toss. I couldn't ever tell him 'No' even if I wanted to, but of course I never wanted to.

As much as I hated to admit it, he was the only person I'd ever met who could willingly stay on the court and practice for longer than I did. Hinata was an endlessly rechargeable battery, so easy to excite and motivate. The most amazing thing was the way he radiated his overflowing energy, like he was filling up those around him with warmth and excitement. He had been my refill on so many occasions, letting me be close enough to him at all times that his energy slowly seeped inside of me. He revitalized my soul.

As embarrassing as it sounds, Hinata made me feel like a flower. My volleyball talent had made me big and beautiful, but my teammates abandoning me had wilted my roots. Then, Hinata came along and was constantly watering the soil around me and bringing me back to life. He had made me powerful and confident and shiny again.

_God, I miss him._

The fact that I had missed his call when he was so upset made everything worse. Now I couldn't focus on anything other than whether or not he was okay. Plus, knowing I was too far away from him to even really do something if he needed me was practically torture.

After sitting on the floor staring at pictures and overworking my brain for who knows how long, I decided to head for something to eat. I looked up fast food and found a restaurant that was about a 5 minute walk off campus.

By the time I was finished at the food place, it was turning dark outside. I made my way back to the dorms, contemplating whether I should try calling Hinata again or if I should just give him some space and let him call back when he was ready. Technically speaking it was around 7 a.m. where he was, so he had most likely fallen asleep and would probably be getting up in the next couple of hours. I just needed to be patient.

"Kageyama!" My eardrums were instantly assaulted as I entered my room.

Instead of replying, I simply moved towards the bathroom and locked the door. The whole day had been exhausting. I didn't think I could handle any more questions and pestering about my life from my roommate tonight.

"Hey, you should take a quick shower after your workout!" I rolled my eyes at his words.

I had wanted a quick shower anyways, but if I turned the water on now that he said something it would look like I did it just because he told me to.

"Don't tell me what to do!" I shouted at the door.

"I wasn't telling you what to do, I was merely suggesting what you should do," He chuckled lightly and that made me even more annoyed.

"I can take care of myself!" I barked out, grabbing the edge of the sink to try to contain my anger.

"Oh, come on, Kageyama! There's another party tonight. You don't want to show up all sweaty and smelling like B.O.," My entire body tensed at his words.

"I don't want to 'show up' at all,"I informed him stiffly.

"Has Shouyou still not called you back?" At the sound of Hinata's name, a wave of red hot hatred flushed through my chest.

Pushing off the sink, I lumbered to the door and whipped it open. My roommate was leaning against the wall beside the door, playing some stupid game on his phone. He hadn't even been fully paying attention to our conversation!

I reached my hand out and slammed my palm across his phone screen, curling my fingers to quickly grab the phone and not let it fall. Swinging my arm around as I stepped forward, I brought the phone to point directly at his face. He jumped in shock at my sudden advance.

"If you ever say his name again, I will pull your tongue out of your mouth," I stretched my face out into a dark smirk, Hinata used to call it my 'creepy doll' smile. It was my best weapon, it scared everyone.

"I'll take that as a 'no' then. All the more reason you should go! Get your mind off of it for awhile. Take a break from all your angry worrying," His complete lack of reaction left me so rattled that my hand holding his phone fell limply back to my side as I straightened up to my full height again.

"What....." I stood blinking at him for several seconds, slightly confused.

"You're gonna get wrinkles from how much you've been scowling, and it would be a shame to lose this cute of a face at such a young age," He grabbed my chin in his hand and pulled me down slightly, my heart skyrocketing in a panic.

"What. The. Fuck," I shoved him away quickly, taking a large step backwards. His loud cackle echoed around the room.

"Hinata is halfway around the world, even if he calls there really isn't much you can do. Worrying the way you are is pointless. Come to the party with me and just try to relax. He'll reach out when he's ready," His logic was sound enough that all I could do was growl in annoyance, tossing his phone down onto his desk.

"I'm leaving the second he calls me," I informed my roommate, jabbing a finger in his face with emphasis, before retreating to the bathroom once more.

After a quick rinse off in the shower, I ventured back out to the room in just a towel.

"Damn, I didn't know volleyball did that," I raised an eyebrow at my roommates sudden outburst.

"Did what?" I wondered, as I opened my cupboard to rifle through my t-shirts.

"Chisel a body so nicely," Every one of my muscles seemed to freeze in place, the blood in my veins burning my body from the inside out in embarrassment at the implications of his words.

"Dude, I don't care about your sexuality and all that bullshit," I threw a very direct glare at him over my shoulder. "But, I really hope it isn't going to cause any problems in this dorm room."

"Oh, it's just harmless flirting, Tobio," He smiled at me before clapping his hands together and standing up from his desk chair.

"It's disgusting," I retorted harshly.

"I can almost guarantee that Hinata would love if you learned how to use it," The suggestive wink he gave sent a shiver down my spine.

"I will seriously request for a roommate transfer," I threatened.

"Honestly," He sighed, shaking his head slightly. "You're really no fun."

Hinata used to say that same thing, only he sounded more endearing than the asshole across the room from me. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts of Hinata, I focused on getting dressed. Since I felt like going to the party more to relax and take my mind off things than to socialize and meet people like the first time, I didn't really care about making any type of impressions. I settled on a very simple pair of tapered black joggers and a light gray v-neck.

"I might come to hate this roommate situation more than you do with this rate of torture," My roommate sighed dramatically as he looked over my attire, before shrugging his shoulders and heading for the door.

I just rolled my eyes and followed him out.

We headed in a different direction than last time. This route leading us behind the library, between the Public Union Building and the engineer building, and then winding a few blocks into a small neighborhood. The house was pretty average, blending in perfectly with the rest of the block. It seemed like a much smaller party this time around, and that gave me a small sense of relief.

"Takumi!" I recognized the girl that opened the door immediately. "Mystery Giant?!"

"Hey, Chou!" My roommate, Takumi - fuck, I should probably try to remember his name from now on - pulled pixie girl into a hug as she stared at me with a huge grin on her face.

"I was hoping to see you again!" The girl, Chou, grabbed my arm as soon as Takumi released her. "Did your guy call?"

"Uh," My voice caught in my throat at her question, the mere mention of Hinata making me want to turn around and go back to the dorm.

"Not a good subject tonight, Chou," Takumi patted me on the shoulder, and I shrugged him away from me.

"Well, shit," Chou sighed, her hand waving as an invite for us to come inside. "Sounds like we need to get plastered."

There were more people inside the house than I had hoped there would be, navigating behind Chou was pretty tricky when her small size apparently hid her quickly in large crowds. Somehow I managed to trail her down a small set of stairs, walking into what instantly felt like a completely different party than the one going on above. It was quieter, but there was more of a charge in the air. The space was warm and kind of inviting. Something about the group felt more intimate as well, like I had been granted access into some exclusive club.

"We'll get you to forget in no time, Mystery Giant," Chou picked up a can and a knife, quickly jabbing the tip into the side of the can near the bottom before handing the can to me at a slight angle. She stabbed a second can and then turned to face me squarely.

"What is this?" I asked her, lifting the can in my hands for a visual aid to the intent of my question.

"We're gonna shotgun these," She told me.

"I don't know what that means," I admitted, the atmosphere still setting me slightly on edge.

"You pop the can open on the top as you chug from the bottom. Go on three," I barely had time to register her instructions before she was counting. "One, two, three!"

Hinata and I used to have soda chugging contests on weekends we didn't have practices in high school, so I found it quite easy to gulp down the entirety of my can in three quick swallows. I gagged slightly at the end of my last swallow, simply from the stark bitter aftertaste of the alcohol.

"Now," Chou clapped her hands together loudly. "Who wants to play Never Have I Ever?"

Twelve people managed to squeeze into a relative circle shape on the floor of the small basement living room. Every person with a red plastic cup, filled to the brim with a mix of about six different types of alcohol, in their hand.

Rules were simple: Going around the circle, each person admits something they have never done. Any member of the circle that has done that thing has to take a full swallow of their drink.

"Never Have I Ever..... jerked off in a locker room."

_Starting off hard. Fuck._

"Never Have I Ever..... gotten a boner during a game."

_Fuck._

"Never Have I Ever..... ripped my shorts while playing a sport."

_Fuck._

"Never Have I Ever..... been attracted to a teammate."

 _Fuck_.

It was an alright enough game, until I was so many rounds in I'd completely lost count. I had to refill my cup twice because I had to drink for practically every round. The game ended, but I couldn't remember the last few questions, nor how long it had been since they were asked. Carpet was surprisingly comfortable, but the designs crawling on the ceiling were mesmerizing. My body was weightless, floating on a cloud. Slow, deep breathes filled my lungs with such satisfaction that my chest buzzed with a sense so akin to euphoria.

"Hey, Mystery Giant," A high-pitched giggle rang out somewhere near the left side of my head.

"I have a name," I huffed towards the ceiling.

"If I call you by your name, we become friends. Are you prepared for that?" Her words made me feel like smiling, but I forced myself to frown in order to school my emotions.

"Having friends is exhausting," I stated, although it surprised me how unconvincing my own voice sounded.

"So is dedicating yourself to a sport," She replied. "But it's worth it for something you love. People can be the same, if you give them the chance."

"I should be the one asking if you're ready," I chuckled lightly as I closed my eyes.

"I'm known for being a handful," I could feel her move, so I peeked one eye open to see her staring at me curiously.

"I'm known for being an asshole," Closing my eye once more, I brought my hands up to rest under my head.

"I'm waiting...." She whined.

"For what?" I questioned nonchalantly.

"Your name, Dumbass," I could practically hear the roll in her eyes.

"Hinata," It took me exactly two seconds to register the name that came out of my mouth before I groaned loudly.

"Nice to meet you Hinata," I shook my head quickly as I sat up.

"No, no," I interrupted her, putting my face in my hands to hide my embarrassment. "My name is Kageyama."

"But you just said...." She started.

"I know what I said!" I snapped out harshly, my head lifting up to glare at her out of habit.

Her eyebrows furrowed deeply as she studied me, then she shrugged a shoulder and smiled.

"Kageyama it is then," She stuck out her hand towards me. "My name is Chouka Kobayashi, but my friends just call me Chou."

"Kageyama Tobio," I returned her handshake, albeit a little awkwardly. "I guess my friends call me Kags."

"Kags? That's so cute!" She gushed, bringing both her hands up to push in on her cheeks as she giggled.

"What sport do you play?" I interrogated. The question had been nagging at me since I first met her. She was just so small, I needed to know what game she was into.

"Soccer," Not what I was expecting. "You?"

"Volleyball," I responded proudly.

"Volleyball always looked so fun!" She sighed dramatically as she hung her head. "I'm just too short."

"There's nothing wrong with being short," I tried to comfort.

"Except when it keeps you from being good at things," Glancing at her out of the corner of my eye, I saw her huff out heavily and pout.

"How tall are you?" Scooting to face her fully, I raised an eyebrow.

"5' 4"," She sighed.

"One of the best spiker's I've ever seen on a volleyball court is only 5' 5"," He'd only grown an inch through out high school.

"Really?" Her jaw dropped slightly and I chuckled lightly at her astounded look.

"His height makes no difference to the game. He's amazing. It's like he can fly sometimes," A huge grin spread across Chou's face as she listened to me talk.

"Are we talking about your man?" She wiggled her eyebrows at me, my nose scrunching in embarrassment at her insinuation.

"Stop saying weird things," I grumbled, avoiding looking directly at her face for fear of letting her see me slightly flustered.

"Oh, come on!" She leaned onto one elbow in order to extend her other arm and punch me playfully. "I'm so not the judgemental type. Besides, if you like boys, that's just one more thing for us to bond about."

"I don't like boys," I scoffed in disgust, rolling my eyes.

"Don't lie to me, Kags," Her teasing tone made me shake my head.

"I'm not lying," I argued. "I guess I just never thought about it."

"Come with me," Chou hoisted herself to her feet, extending a hand down to help me up as well.

"Where are we going?" I questioned as she dragged me by the wrist up the stairs.

The basement area had started to veg out after Never Have I Ever, so being pulled into a giant throng of sweaty, loud people was almost overwhelming. Music was blaring, people were dancing and laughing and drinking, and I wanted to scream at everyone to shut the fuck up. Every nerve in my body was seemingly firing at once, raising the hairs on my arms and making me feel extremely itchy.

I hadn't realized I was holding my breath, until Chou opened up a door at the back of the kitchen and yanked me out into the chilly nighttime air. Taking a huge inhale of fresh oxygen, I felt my body sway slightly and I sunk to the ground. The grass was a little wet, like maybe the sprinklers had been going earlier in the evening, but my veins were pumping lava and I relished in the cool sensation of running my fingers through the lawn beneath me.

"You were so determined about that guy calling you," Chou plopped herself beside me, producing a small item between her fingers that looked like a sloppily rolled cigarette.

"He called. Like I said he would," I glued my eyes to the sky, enjoying the sight of the stars above.

"See, that right there!" She was pointing at me accusingly when I glanced in her direction.

"What?" I turned my head to fully face her.

"Whenever you start talking about that guy, your entire demeanor seems to relax and you get this twinkly look in your eyes," She exclaimed. "Kags, it's so obvious."

"Obvious? What do you mean?" Blinking several times in confusion, I waited for her to light the end of her weird cigarette and take a huge hit.

"You're in love with him," She offered the cigarette to me, but my body felt frozen in place from her words.

"In... in, in l-l-LOVE?!" My lungs suddenly started screaming, like I couldn't get enough oxygen into them no matter how many breathes I tried to take. The stars started to swirl together and flash alarmingly, my heartbeat pounding so hard in my chest that it physically hurt.

"You know, it's probably none of my business. Sorry for prying," Chou started to nibble on her bottom lip, her eyebrows scrunching together on her forehead. Focusing on her distress helped me get a handle on my own freak out.

"You barely even know me," I managed to blurt out. My brain was still trying to reboot itself after such a shock.

"Exactly. My friends say I meddle too much," She sighed and hung her head in seeming defeat.

"Is..... is it THAT obvious?" Without thinking, I reached out and grabbed her by the arm. She turned her wide eyes to study me for a moment before she smiled.

"I mean, you said so yourself, I barely even know you. If you say I'm wrong, then I'm wrong," She shrugged one shoulder with a small chuckle, before taking another hit from her paper roll. "It's just.... watching you talk about whoever this guy is, makes me hope someone talks about me that way someday."

"As basic as it can get, Hinata is my best friend. Although, I'm not exactly sure if there are other feelings I have for him," I admitted. "I've always been too focused on Volleyball to pay attention to that sort of thing."

"I see," Was her only reply.

We fell into silence, but not necessarily a bad one. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but I wasn't really nervous or uncomfortable either. It was simply silent.

"It's just a weed joint," Her voice startled me back into the moment.

"What?" I turned to face her again.

"Do you want a hit?" She offered her sloppy cigarette roll to me again.

"Sure," I slowly took the joint from between her fingers. Even though I had taken a pot brownie at the last party, something about putting the paper between my teeth to inhale deliberately gave me a sort of thrill for the taboo action.

The smoke assaulted my throat and I began to cough harshly. Thick clouds were spewing from my mouth as I spluttered, nearly gagging on the burnt aftertaste on the back of my tongue. Chou patted my back lightly, an amused smile on her face.

"Careful there, Kags," She giggled as I sent a glare in her direction.

We passed the joint for several long minutes, neither of us sparking any new kind of conversation. Suddenly, my arms and legs began to tingle in an exciting way. My chest swelled with a feeling of contentment that brought me to the conclusion that this was the best possible moment in time to voice my confusing thoughts, in hopes of receiving some sort of advice on how to figure out my recent new feelings.

"I miss him so much at times that it's painful," I forced the words out, my face igniting in the momentary silence that followed.

"Where is he?" She asked gently.

"Brazil," I replied.

"Oh, wow," The way she puffed her 'o' sound to make little smoke rings made me chuckle slightly.

"He said he wanted to work hard at rounding out his volleyball skills. He thought going to a beach and learning how to play sand volleyball was genius. Everything about our relationship has been driven around our rivalry, to be the best, the last one on the court. How could I deny him an opportunity to get better? It's good he went, he needed to go," There was a slight tremble to my voice, and I was unsure if it was from the nip in the air or the sense of overwhelming longing that suddenly shrouded my heart.

"If he went there to get better," Her head lolled sideways and landed on my shoulder. "Then that means he has to come back to show you the results."

Normally I would have shoved her off, but there seemed to be a small bubble of friendliness and comfort around us that killed the idea in an instant.

"But he's not coming back for me," Even saying the words made me feel nauseous.

"Why wouldn't he?" It seemed like anger in her tone.

"He left to get better without me," I sighed, my throat constricting with emotion as I tried to organize my thoughts into real words. "He's going to learn not to need me anymore. He's going to rely on other people. I lost him the second he decided to leave."

"But... but, but," Chou spluttered out, her head shaking from side to side rapidly as she faced me. "You said he called."

"I left my phone in my dorm when I went to the gym and Takumi answered for me," I explained.

"At least he called, though!" She smiled like she was trying to cheer me up, but I just shook my head and looked towards the sky.

"Except Takumi said he was crying. And now he won't pick up any of my calls back to him," Elaborating into the core of my problem set me on edge. I was divulging information, showing a side to me that was easier to keep hidden the majority of the time.

I hated showing weakness, being vulnerable, but the buzz in my body and the haze of my mind blanketed the panic of opening up in the moment.

"Well, I think being worried sounds reasonable right now," Chou gently placed her hand on top of mine on the ground, and I didn't feel the need to pull away.

"It's more stupid than reasonable, in my opinion," I mumbled out, frowning as I tried sorting my thoughts.

"Why would worrying about him be stupid?" She pestered, scooting closer.

"We've only been apart for three days now. We spent longer times apart during holidays and for family vacations back in high school. I'm pathetic," My mouth was so dry from the nerves of admitting my feelings. "But, the distance between us feels so absolute this time. He set a date to leave, but he never set a date to return. I have no idea how long it will be until I see him again. That fact alone is so excruciating to accept that I want to throw up just saying the words out loud."

"Well," She sighed dramatically as she flopped onto her back. "Fuck."

"I don't understand what's happening," My voice came out small, frightened.

She turned her head to look at me without sitting back up, her neck angling in a way that looked extremely uncomfortable. After her eyes lazily searched my face for a second, she started to laugh.

"I'm sorry!" She sat up suddenly in panic, her eyes wide and apologetic as I jerked away from her seemingly rude laugh at my expense. "I wasn't laughing at you! It's just the weed, and you looked so adorable pouting like a lovesick puppy."

"Why now?" I groaned, slumping my shoulders as I hung my head.

"In my humble opinion, you probably took his presence for granted. Even on holidays or family vacations you were certain he was coming back and that life would continue like normal. Now that you are uncertain of when he will return, your body is essentially going through withdrawals," Being new to the party scene I could tell that the only reason I was opening up to her was because of my relaxed inhibitions from the drugs, but her logical explanation made me wonder how intoxicated she really was. She sounded smart even in a slurred state.

"So, what?" I wondered after letting her words hang in the space between us for several long minutes. "I should just tough it out for a little while, until eventually I'm clean of him completely?"

"Or......" The wiggle to her eyebrows gave me an uneasy feeling.

"Or what?" I leaned away from her slightly.

"You tell him how you feel and see if it changes anything," With a simple shrug of her shoulder, she looked back towards the sky.

"Tell him how I feel? I didn't even know how I felt five minutes ago. Fucking hell.... I still don't even know if this is real," Groaning loudly, I flopped onto my back.

Suddenly there was a very sharp pinch on my thigh and I yelped as I kicked my leg out in surprise.

"This is very real," She looked at me so seriously that I could only swallow my impending insult back down. Although, I did start to rub light circles on the area of skin she nipped to try to soothe it.

"I couldn't tell him even if I wanted to," I acknowledged quietly.

"Oh, come on, Kags!" She placed her hand on my arm and shook me lightly several times. "Don't be a baby. Just have some courage!"

"It's not that I can't tell him...." I huffed out in exasperation at having to try to explain myself further. "I just can't tell him. How could I? It would only be a distraction to his training! How would I even do it? This doesn't exactly seem like the type of thing you casually bring up over FaceTime. And, even more importantly, what would I say? 'Hey, Shouyou! You living in Brazil is killing me, because I think I might be in love you'? Like, what the actual fuck?! Fat fucking chance."

"Oh, how romantic!" She gasped, mockingly fanning her face. "You'd rather tell him in person than over the phone. Such a gentleman!"

"Oh my god. No! I'd rather not tell him at all," I sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of my nose in distress.

"Not tell him at all?!" The punch that landed against my arm was surprisingly more powerful than I would have expected from the small girl.

"Hey! What the fuck?!" I growled in response to her attack.

"If you love him, why wouldn't you want him to know? What if he loves you back?" Her words sent a violent shock down my spine.

"Loves me back?!" My own voice sounded hysterical as I practically shouted in Chou's face. The next thing I knew I was clutching one of my sides, laughing uncontrollably as I tried to cover my mouth with my other hand.

"Why is that so funny? If you're harboring secret feelings, how is it unreasonable that he's doing the same thing?" She wondered, casually picking at a patch of grass beside her hip until I stopped laughing.

"He's never given any kind of hint that he might feel anything like that for me," I reasoned, violently shaking my head from side to side like that would put an end to this path of conversation.

"I highly doubt you gave him any idea you might feel anything like that for him either," She countered quickly.

"This is all happening way too fast," My chest constricted painfully as I began to panic.

"Or it's taken you too long to open your eyes," She winked at me playfully but I just frowned.

"Honestly, this all sounds ridiculous!" I admitted with a heavy huff.

"Why?" She pestered, cocking her head to the side and making my heart lurch at yet another reminder of Hinata's mannerisms and his absence beside me.

"I'm not a nice person, Chou. I liked being alone. I liked doing everything on my own, with my own skill. Totally conceited in my talent and drive to be the last one on the court. I thought as long as I was the best then I didn't need others, but then my middle school teammates abandoned me. After having an entire team turn their back on me, I didn't get into my top tier high school request either. I settled into my third choice of Karasuno High. Hinata and I were teammates there. He was annoying as all hell, a short little fucker, but he never let me be alone again. He stuck beside me, worked with me, played with me, helped me grow. I'm uncertain of what love really is, but I've never felt this connected to another person before and the thought of losing how close we are as we get older completely terrifies me. You say I'm 'in love' with Shouyou, but couldn't it just be love for a best friend, or a brother?" I turned to face Chou, her face scrunched up like she was deep in thought.

"Kiss me," She leaned forward and suddenly her nose was centimeters away. Her eyes were a startling green up close.

"What?" It was more of a squeak than a word.

"If you only love him like a brother, kissing me should be easy," She raised an eyebrow as if to taunt me.

"I've never kissed anyone before," I wanted to swallow my words as soon as I said them, my face igniting in embarrassment as her eyes widened.

"Saving it for Shouyou?" My mouth immediately fell open to snark back, but there was no sound that came out. I just sat there with my jaw opening and closing like an idiot for several seconds.

"Why the fuck would I want to kiss him?!" My lungs were shrinking in my chest.

"That's what you do with someone you're in love with. Hold hands, cuddle, take pictures, go on dates, kiss, sex," At her words, a million images of Hinata flashed through my mind and I almost choked on the air I was trying to inhale. "Is that what you want to be like with Hinata? To proudly show him off as your special, significant other?"

"Well, I..... I-I never.... significant other? I mean.... Date him?" My mouth was stuttering behind the speed at which my brain was trying to process.

"It's obvious that you have really strong feelings for this guy. I mean, the feelings are strong enough, deep enough, complicated enough to be totally baffling you right now. And any kind of feeling that can completely overwhelm someone with confusion has got to be something at least a little more special than just friendship," She shrugged one of her shoulders nonchalantly, like everything she was saying was supposed to be obvious.

"It wouldn't matter even if I did want to try any of those things with him," I had to avert my eyes from her intense gaze so I could somewhat control the flame of my face. "Like I said earlier, I have no idea when, or if, I'll ever get to fucking see him again."

"Kageyama Tobio!" Her tone was so sharp and direct that I actually shrank away from her slightly in shock. "If distance is the reason you won't tell him how you feel, then I am begging you to let that be the only reason."

"What do you mean?" I pressed her, my eyebrows furrowing together.

"The majority of people spend most of their lives looking for love. It's such a romantic conceptto find that one special person who makes you feel more beautiful, confident, and powerful than you've ever felt before. That perfect puzzle piece to complete your heart. You have a chance to have all of that. The only thing stopping you from that happiness is yourself. If you're worried about never seeing him again, then give yourself an incentive for hope. Promise yourself that if you get the chance to see him again you will take the advantage and tell him how you feel," There were crickets echoing in the silence as I gave her words some careful consideration.

A small ray of excitement bubbled in my chest for a moment, until a thought crossed my mind that made my heart drop into my stomach.

"What if he's disgusted by it? What if telling him makes me lose my best friend?" Overwhelming panic flooded my veins, my vision pulsing at the edges.

"My grandma always said that the best kind of bond is when two friends fall in love," The dreamy note in her voice made me want to throw up.

"But that's just it! What if I fell and he....," My windpipe constricted to the point that I almost couldn't get the last word out. "Didn't?"

"You'll never know if you never try," She bumped her shoulder against mine, but I just shook my head slowly as I stared at the grass between my fingers.

"It's not worth the risk," I admitted, the ache in my chest growing more painful by the second.

"Let me ask you a question," Chou scooted herself around so that she was sitting directly in front of me, our knees touching together as she grasped my hands in her own and brought them into her lap.

"What?" My nose twitched in slight discomfort at the clamminess of her palms.

"Does the fear of losing a game ever keep you from playing?" Her question seemed so out of the blue that it rendered me speechless for a moment.

"I would never be the best if I gave up without trying," I replied tentatively.

"You'll never be happy if you give up on Shouyou without trying," She countered quickly. The intent of her seemingly random question now hit me like a volleyball to the face.

"No, you don't get it, Chou," I growled as I yanked my hands free of her grip. "Losing a game would definitely be heartbreaking and painful, but I could work harder, practice longer, get better. Losing Shouyou would be like the sun disappearing from the sky. Plunged into darkness, I'd never be warm again."

"Nothing will ever convince me that you are not in love with him after that statement," Her green eyes were swirling with a heavy mix of endearment and amusement, making my ears burn and spiking my asshole urge to punch the smile off her face.

"I told you she'd be out here! CHOUKA!" Terror like none I have ever experienced racked through my body at the sudden screech. Looking over my shoulder, I recognized Chou's doll-like friend from the party the night before.

"Akemi!" Chou scrambled to her feet in order to catch the other girl that came flying at her.

"How come you're never this excited when you see me?" Stepping from behind the embracing girls came none other than Takumi.

"Chou obviously has exemplary taste by favoring the better sibling," The girl, Akemi, pulled away from Chou to flick my roommate on the forehead with her finger.

"Sibling?" Sitting on the ground, staring up at the three friends bickering, made me feel ironically small for a moment.

"Tobio! I didn't even see you sitting there!" Takumi's face broke out in a wide smile as his eyes landed on me. "For once in her life Chouka managed to hide someone from view!"

"Shut the fuck up about my height, Takumi!" Chou punched the boy on the arm but he just laughed.

"This is my sister, Akemi," He leaned down to grab my arm, forcing me to my feet.

"We've met once already," I noted, giving her a slight nod of acknowledgement.

"Actually, we've met twice, but I can't say I'm surprised you wouldn't remember the first," Akemi stepped forward with a giant grin spreading across her face. "I was a little too far gone last night to recognize anyone, otherwise I probably would have screamed. You're Kageyama Tobio, prodigy setter. Recruited from Karasuno High."

"We met before last night?" Her eyes were shining, making her look even more like a doll than she had before.

"Spring Interhigh. 2015. One of your teammates, the one with glasses, he bumped into me when I got lost trying to find the bathrooms. I fell on the floor, but he just told me fans weren't supposed to be in the back hallway and walked away," She started explaining.

"Tsukishima was always an asshole," I mumbled, rolling my eyes at the thought of his salty personality.

"And then, THE Hinata Shouyou, Karasuno's new Little Giant, came running over to help me up!" She squealed, jumping between the balls of her feet in a strange little dance. "Then, you and him were showing me back to the doors that would let me out to the public bathrooms and away from the rest of the volleyball teams. Next thing I know, you were handing me a carton of strawberry milk and telling me to enjoy watching the games."

Hearing someone I didn't even know say Shouyou's name so adoringly felt as if someone had reached their hand into my chest and was trying to pop my heart like a water balloon.

"You're the sister that plays volleyball?" I suddenly remembered the conversation I had had with Takumi earlier in the day.

”I’m a setter, just like you!” She beamed at me.

”Good choice,” I acknowledged.

"After meeting you two, I got so excited when I recognized you coming on the court. You guys were mesmerizing to watch, just an absolutely amazing duo. The way you could set so perfectly for someone as powerful and insanely quick as him just boggled my brain. Watching you made me buy the Karasuno publicity poster of Hinata! I was hoping to have the both of you sign it for me after the tournament but they were way more strict about keeping the public out of the back hallways once it was over," Her sigh was accompanied by a nonchalant shrug of her shoulder's, but her eyes told me she was more disappointed than she tried to play off.

"You would have made his entire life if you had asked for an autograph," I chuckled at the image of Hinata's face all lit up with his overwhelming glow of excitement.

"I still have that poster. It's hung up in my dorm!" She started to giggle suddenly, swaying on her feet as she leaned into Chou's side. "I like having a hot guy to wake up and ogle every morning."

"Hot guy?" All saliva in my mouth dried instantaneously at her words.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Chou put up a hand quickly. "Am I the only one who has no idea what this guy looks like? So unfair!"

"Real eye candy," Takumi interjected, teasing her with a smirk.

"Kags!" Chou lunged at me out of nowhere, latching two vice grips around my bicep.

"Ow! What the fuck?!" I tried to shake her off but she just growled and dug her nails in deeper.

"Show me a picture! You bragged about him all night long and now both of these two say he's hot! I have to know!" Her voice rose an entire octave as she begged me.

***RING* *RING* *RING***

"Well, well, well," Takumi folded his arms across his chest as his mischievous grin spread across his face. "Fifty bucks says that's the guy in question. What do you say, Tobio? Show her the contact picture."

As much as I was silently screaming at heart for Takumi to be correct that it was indeed Hinata calling me, the prideful boy deep inside of me only slightly hoped it might not be. Just so I wouldn't have to feel anymore embarrassed than I already did after basically spilling my heart out to Chou about Hinata only a few minutes before.

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I took a deep breath before glancing down at the screen.

I was shrouded in darkness at Midnight, but staring up at me was the sun.


End file.
